On Dec 13, city officials unveiled a new design concept for the Belmont Bridge project that would move the Avon Street vehicular lanes underneath the CSX railroad tracks. The traditional replacement bridge scenario has an estimated cost of $15.9 million and the underpass scenario is $17.3 million.

In both scenarios, a separate iconic pedestrian bridge is included. Cyclists would use 5-foot-wide bike lanes on either side of the roadway. These lanes would possibly be elevated in the traditional bridge scenario.

The bridge could be replaced with two years of construction, whereas the underpass would take three years.

One advantage of the underpass scenario is that the city and VDOT would save on long-term maintenance costs.

A disadvantage of the underpass scenario is that Avon Street might need to be closed for at least four months to build the railroad bridge.